Mounting means for oven doors



Jan. 28, 1964 R. E. BRETT ETAL 3,119,388

- MOUNTING MEANS FOR OVEN DOORS Filed March 29, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l N VE N T 0R5 Ric/mm Edwin Brett Keir/1 William Parker fieir 2,05%

1964 R. E. BRETT ETAL 3,119,333

MOUNTING MEANS FOR OVEN DOORS Filed March 29, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A li:

I/VVE/VTO/fl? Ric/20rd Edwin Brett Keif/r Will/am Parker The/r Affoney United States Patent 3,119,388 MGUNTING MEANS FOR OVEN DOORS Richard Edwin Brett, Cheltenhanl, Victoria, and Keith William Parker, Ringwood, Victoria, Austraiia, as-

signors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich.,

a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 29, 1952, Ser. No. 183,597 4 Claims. (Cl. 126-191) This invention relates to cooking stoves and ranges having an oven compartment, a spring-influenced, down wardly hinging front door fitted to said oven compartment, said front door having at least one retaining arm which has a longitudinal edge of cam-like formation, a spring-influenced cam follower carried by the stove body, and adapted to engage said edge, a notch formed in the cam profile of each said retaining arm near the free end thereof so as to accommodate said cam follower when the door occupies a fully opened horizontal position, whereby each said retaining arm assists in yieldingly holding the oven door in its fully opened position.

In the fully open position, the oven door of such stoves or ranges occupies a substantially horizontal position and when it is necessary to clean the interior of the oven compartment, particularly in the case of wall ovens and ovens with large doors, the fully open oven door is somewhat inconveniently placed.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved stove or range of the kind indicated in which the oven door is capable of being swung downwardly beyond the usual fully open position so that it finally occupies a downwardly hanging position and therefor permits of ready access to the interior of the oven compartment for cleaning and other purposes.

The improved oven door is of relatively simple design and is convenient and safe to operate.

In accordance with the present invention cooking stoves and ranges of the kind indicated are characterised in that said oven door is hingeably mounted in such a manner that it is capable of swinging from a substantially upright closed position into a downwardly hanging position and that manually operable means are provided for displacing each cam follower bodily out of engagement with its associated retaining arm when the oven door occupies its substantially horizontal operative position whereby the door is freed to be swung into its downwardly hanging position.

But in order that this invention may be better understood reference will now be made to the accompanying sheet of drawings which are to be taken as part of this specification and read herewith:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing a cooking stove provided with a downwardly hinging front door and associated retaining means in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale of the retaining means at one side of the door with the adjacent side wall of the stove omitted for convenience of illustration.

FIGURE 3 is a similar view of the opposite side of the oven door with the adjacent side wall of the oven also removed for convenience of illustration.

In the type of stove or frame to which the present invention is applicable the oven door 2 may be provided with a pair of retaining arms 3, located one on each side of the door. The upper edge portion of each retaining arm is of cam like formation adapted to receive an associated spring-influenced cam follower 4, in the form of a roller, the arrangement being preferably such that the oven door may be retained in any one of three selected positions.

In the type of stove referred to, each retaining arm "ice may be directly connected to a return spring (not shown) but it will be appreciated that the oven door may be spring-influenced in any one of a number of other possible ways. For example, the oven door may be springintluenced by means located in each of the usual hollow side walls of the oven compartment including a return spring assembly 6 and a cable '7. Each return spring assembly may, for example, consist of a pair of springs each of which is connected at one end to a pulley block 8, whilst its opposite end is anchored on the respective side wall. Each cable 7 is anchored at one end to the oven door as at 11, passes through an aperture and over a roller 12 in the front panel of its associated side wall, around the pulley in the pulley block and is anchored at its opposite end as at 13, to the side wall.

Each of the springs of the assemblies 6 may be hooked in any one of a series of spaced holes 14 in the side wall so that they may be anchored and adjusted for tension in accordance with requirements.

The upper edge portion of each retaining arm is of cam like formation and may include a hump 16 intermediate in the length of the cam profile and a gap or notch 17 near the free end of the retaining arm. The notch is preferably of substantially U-shaped formation and is provided to accommodate the cam follower 4 When the oven door is in its fully open position.

In accordance with the present invention, means are provided for manually elevating each cam follower 4 clear of its associated gap 17 so that the oven door may be swung downwardly into a hanging position.

The elevating means may include a trip lever 18 preferably of L-shape in cross section, mounted for example, in the front panel of one side wall so that one arm 18a thereof forms a suitable finger grip and the other arm 13!: is connected to two cables or connector means 21 and 22 respectively. One cable 21 is relatively shorter than the other, and is connected to a pivoted arm or the like 23 carrying the adjacent cam follower 4 on the same side of the oven compartment as the trip lever, the other or longer cable 22 being connected by means of a pulley system 2.4 to operate the opposite or remote cam follower.

The remote cam follower may be mounted at one end of a lever 26 pivoted intermediate its length as at 27, and the longer cable 22 connected as at 28 to the free end of its lever. The connection 28 may be adjustable if so des1red so as to vary the effective length of the cable.

Assuming that the oven door occupies a horizontal position, the arrangement is such that when trip lever 18 is operated, each oam follower 4 is lifted clear of its associated notch '17 against the tension of its spring so that the oven door 2 may be swung d'ownwandly into a hanging position.

In order to avoid the oven door swinging downwardly out of control whenever the trip lever 18 is so actuated, the material of each arm defining its notch 17 is preferably undercut as :at 31 so as to accommodate its associated cam follower in such a fashion that the cam follower cannot be raised clear thereof without first lifting the dOlOI slightly so that each oam follower is clear of the overhanging portion of the arm defining its notch, after which the trip lever may be readily actuated.

In addition, in order to facilitate re-engagement of each team follower with its associated retaining arm, when the oven door is swung upwardly back into its operative position from its hanging position, the free end of the retaining arm preferably has a ramp shaped upper edge 32.

It Will be appreciated from the foregoing that the cam follower elevating means may be readily actuated by one of the users fingers, whilst the other hand is free to control the downward swinging motion of the door. In addition the trip lever cannot be operated when the oven door is in its usual fully open or horizontal position without first slightly raising the door and finally the oven door is readily returnable to its normal operative position.

It is to be understood that various alterations, modifications and/or additions may be incorporated in the foregoing without departing from the ambit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an improved oven door mounting arrangement for a cooking stove or the like the combination of, means forming a frame, a door, a hinge on said frame means mounting said door for swinging movement relative to said frame means from a substantially upright position to a downwardly hanging position, a retaining ar-m connected for movement with said door and relative to said frame means, said retaining arm having a notch, a follower pivotally connected to said frame means and engageable with said notch to retain said door in a substantially horizontal position, and manually operable means connected to said follower and movable relative to said frame means for bodily displacing said follower from engagement with said notch whereby the door is freed for swinging movement to said downwardly hanging position, said retaining arm being undercut in said notch so that when the door occupies its substantially horizontal position with said follower engaging said notch, that portion of the retaining arm at that side of the notch remote from the door is adapted to overhang Slflld follower in such a manner that when in use bodily displacement of said follower by said manually operable means is opposed unless the door is first slightly lifted to free the follower from the overhanging portion of said retaining arm there-by reducing the possibility of unintentional opening of the door beyond its horizontal position.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said retaining arm includes a free end portion having :a ramp shaped formation so that its upper edge is inclined forwardly and inwardly towards the free end portion of said retaining arm so that when the door is swung upwardly from its hanging position towards its upright position, the ramp shaped fiormation of the free end portion of said retaining arm facilitates the re-engagement of said iollower said retaining arm.

3. In an improved oven door mounting arrangement for a cooking stove or the like the combination of, means forming a frame, a door, a hinge on said frame means mounting said door for swinging movement relative to said frame means from a substantially upright position to a downwardly hanging position, first and second retainiug arms connected at each side of said door for movement with said door and relative to said frame means, each of said retaining arms having a notch, first and secand followers pivotally connected to said frame means and engageable respectively with said notches to retain said door in a substantially horizontal position, pulley means in fixed relationship to said frame means remote from said door, connector means engageable with said pulley means and having one end connected to said first follower, and manually operable means connected to said second follower land to the other end of said connector means and movable relative to said frame means for bodily displacing said followers from engagement with said notches whereby the door is freed for swinging movement to said downwardly hanging position, said retaining arms being undercut in said notches so that when the door occupies its substantially horizontal position with said followers engaging said notches, that portion of each retaining arm at that side of the respective notch remote from the door is adapted to overhang the respective follower in such a manner that when in use bodily displacement of said fiollowers by said manually operable means is opposed unless the door is first slightly lifted to free the followers from the overhanging portions of said retaining arms thereby reducing the possibility of unintentional opening oi the door beyond its horizontal posilion.

4. In an improved oven door mounting arrangement for a cooking stove or the like the combination of, means forming a firame, a door, a hinge on said frame means mounting said door for swinging movement relative to said frame means from a substantially upright position to a downwardly hanging position, first and second retaining arms connected at each side of said door for movement with said door and relative to said frame means, each of said retaining arms having a notch, first and second followers pivotally connected to said frame means and engageable respectively with said notches to retain said door in a substantially horizontal position, pulley means in fixed relationship to said frame means remote from said door, connector means engageable with said pulley means and having one end connected to said first follower, and manually operable means connected to said second follower and to the other end of said connector means and movable relative to said frame means for bodily displacing said followers from engagement with said notches whereby the door is fireed for swinging movement to said downwardly hanging position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. IN AN IMPROVED OVEN DOOR MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT FOR A COOKING STOVE OR THE LIKE THE COMBINATION OF, MEANS FORMING A FRAME, A DOOR, A HINGE ON SAID FRAME MEANS MOUNTING SAID DOOR FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME MEANS FROM A SUBSTANTIALLY UPRIGHT POSITION TO A DOWNWARDLY HANGING POSITION, A RETAINING ARM CONNECTED FOR MOVEMENT WITH SAID DOOR AND RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME MEANS, SAID RETAINING ARM HAVING A NOTCH, A FOLLOWER PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID FRAME MEANS AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID NOTCH TO RETAIN SAID DOOR IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION, AND MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FOLLOWER AND MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID FRAME MEANS FOR BODILY DISPLACING SAID FOLLOWER FROM ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID NOTCH WHEREBY THE DOOR IS FREED FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT TO SAID DOWNWARDLY HANGING POSITION, SAID RETAINING ARM BEING UNDERCUT IN SAID NOTCH SO THAT WHEN THE DOOR OCCUPIES ITS SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION WITH SAID FOLLOWER ENGAGING SAID NOTCH, THAT PORTION OF THE RETAINING ARM AT THAT SIDE OF THE NOTCH REMOTE FROM THE DOOR IS ADAPTED TO OVERHANG SAID FOLLOWER IN SUCH A MANNER THAT WHEN IN USE BODILY DISPLACEMENT OF SAID FOLLOWER BY SAID MANUALLY OPERABLE MEANS IS OPPOSED UNLESS THE DOOR IS FIRST SLIGHTLY LIFTED TO FREE THE FOLLOWER FROM THE OVERHANGING PORTION OF SAID RETAINING ARM THEREBY REDUCING THE POSSIBILITY OF UNINTENTIONAL OPENING OF THE DOOR BEYOND ITS HORIZONTAL POSITION. 